The invention relates to a current limiting device having a leaktight extinguishing chamber in which there are housed a pair of separable contacts and a movable insulating shield capable of occupying an inactive position when said contacts are closed, and of being moved to an active position subdividing said chamber into two independent parts each of which contains one of said contacts when the latter are separated.
Protection of electrical installations requires limiting devices or circuit breakers having higher and higher breaking capacities the cost and dimensions of which are becoming prohibitive. In a state-of-the-art limiting device of the kind mentioned, the movable insulating shield causes separation of the contacts and shearing of the arc drawn between the contacts with a leaktight partition interposed between the two open contacts. The breaking capacity of a device of this kind, designed to protect the electrical installation of a submarine, is relatively limited and the object of the present invention is to perfect such a device while preserving the advantage of small overall dimensions.